Red Lines

by T. A. Foster

  “Have a good night.” He collected a bag of tools and tossed it over his shoulder.

  Haven walked him to the door. “Thanks, Jimmy. You too.”

  “And tell your mama I said hello.”

  “I will.” She listened for the sound of the door to close.

  Maura was on a trip with her sisters to tour historic homes in Charleston and Savannah. Haven’s father returned from his winter getaway in Florida with Betra. She had only seen him once since he had been back, but he didn’t look happy. Maybe things with his girlfriend weren’t going smoothly. Haven could only hope.

  In the meantime, Maura was spending more time in the store and her parents had seemed to work out an arrangement to take turns managing the office. Haven didn’t know how long things would stay amicable, but for now it made life easier.

  She retraced her steps to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine from the wine fridge.

  A cold wet nose bounced off her bare leg.

  “Cowboy!” Haven looked down at the puddle of sand and salt water dripping on the hardwoods. The black lab looked pleased with himself. He dropped a tennis ball at her feet.

  “And are you going to clean up this mess?” She searched for a towel. With the doors wide open, the six-month-old puppy had easily found a way in. He had spent most of the day on the porch with her, but wandered down to the shoreline for a few minutes.

  Haven stooped to his level to wipe the wide planks of the floors. The puppy lapped at the side of her face.

  “You are gross, you know that?” She laughed and tried to towel him off in the process. He wagged his tail as she patted his chunky paws, brushing more sand to the floor.

  Cowboy seemed like a fitting name for the dog. Evan thought it was the perfect tribute to one of his favorite John Wayne movies, but it fit the pup’s rebellious personality. Whether at the ranch or the beach, he liked to venture out on his own.

  They had picked him up in Brees on a fall visit to see Joe and Patty and deliver the promised Carly Stone CD.

  “Darlin’, you here?”

  “In here,” she called. She stood upright and watched Cowboy run toward Evan.

  “Hey, boy. You been swimming?”

  Evan strolled through the new great room with the puppy on his heels. “Man, look at these countertops.” He grabbed Haven by the waist and hoisted her on top.

  She giggled. “Hey, you. I didn’t think you were going to be here until tonight. This is a good surprise.”

  “I am officially done. Very last Red Lines interview was this morning in New York.”

  “That is what this wine is for.” She held up the bottle. “I was going to start my celebration a little early.”

  “Yes, I’ll drink to that.” He pivoted on his heels and reached for two wine glasses. He fixed the corkscrew to the top of the bottle and freed the cork.

  “How did it go today?” She watched him fill the glasses with wine.

  “It was good. It felt good. Glad to get it over with. Emmy says hi by the way.”

  Haven rolled her eyes. “Of course she did.” She readily accepted the glass. “I recorded the interview this morning, but I haven’t watched it yet. It was too loud with the guys in here. Jimmy just left a few minutes ago.”

  “You haven’t seen it?” He eyed her, and for a second, she felt guilty she hadn’t tuned in this morning. She shook her head. “Then let’s watch it. I haven’t seen it either.”

  “But you were there.”

  He set her on the floor and walked to the couch. Within seconds, he had the interview cued on the TV. Cowboy pounced on the ball and ran out of the room, carrying it in his mouth.

  Haven settled under Evan’s arm.

  The interview started with the host introducing Evan and Emmy, then showing a clip from the movie. It was still difficult to watch Evan like that—his hands on Emmy, gliding down her back, along the curves of her hips. Haven tried to focus on other movie details instead, like the light fixtures they chose.

  It didn’t matter how many times she had seen the movie or the posters; it never got easier. Trying to separate Evan from Dex was always a mental challenge. She was glad the majority of the press coverage was behind them.

  Cheryl Cromwell started her questions as soon as the clip faded to black. “How does it feel to star in the number one movie in the world? It’s been number one for three weeks now and I don’t think it’s losing steam if you know what I mean.”

  Emmy smiled. “We’re happy. Just so glad people love the movie as much as we loved making it.”

  “I think we’re still blown away by it,” Evan added.

  “Did you ever imagine anything like this?” the host asked.

  Emmy patted his knee. “Never in our wildest dreams. It’s bigger than we could have imagined.” She looked at Evan. “Did you think anything would happen like this when we first worked together on Masquerade?”

  “Definitely not. It has been a surprise.”

  “You two definitely know how to heat up the big screen. Everyone wants to know what it was like filming those love scenes. So, tell us, did sparks really fly on the set?”

  Evan eyed Emmy. She giggled. “That’s the magic of movie-making. Really, it’s just so technical. There were people telling us where to put arms and legs. It wasn’t really romantic, but it looks like it was.”

  “Emmy’s right. It’s more like a choreographed fight scene than anything else.”

  “Fight scene?” Cheryl questioned and the audience laughed.

  “Not that kind, but sort of what I’m used to preparing for in some of my other action films. There are a lot acrobatics involved.”

  The audience laughed.

  “Well, from our vantage point it looked sizzling hot.” Cheryl giggled and a shot of Evan’s mouth hovering above Emmy’s navel flashed on the screen.

  “Tell us, Evan, exactly how many marriage proposals do you get every day?” Cheryl flipped her hair over her shoulder.

  Evan chuckled. “Plenty, that’s for sure.”

  Emmy touched him on the shoulder. “He’s off the market, ladies. Take it from me, this guy is unavailable.”

  Cheryl raised her eyebrows. “Are you saying there’s a wedding in the future? This is breaking news.”

  “Hold on, hold on.” Evan put his hand up. “I think Emmy’s just trying to help me out.” He turned to his co-star.

  “Because if that’s the case, hearts are breaking all over the world this morning.” It looked as if Cheryl might have one of those broken hearts.

  Evan leaned forward. “No wedding to discuss right now. Actually, I do have an announcement I’d like to share, Cheryl. Not marriage related.” He winked.

  “An announcement? We can’t wait to hear what it is. But first, let’s get this commercial break out of the way. We’ll be right back with Evan Carlson and Emmy Harper, stars of Red Lines.”

  “She’s really dragging this out.” Haven waited while Evan fast-forwarded through the commercials.

  “Yep. Cheryl is dramatic. Ok, here’s the good part.” Evan pushed play.

  Cheryl smiled onscreen. “If you’re just joining us, we have a special treat for you. The stars of Red Lines, Emmy Harper and Evan Carlson, are here with us to discuss the most talked about movie of the year and hopefully give us some behind-the-scenes secrets we’ve all been dying to hear. But first, right before the break, Evan, you said you wanted to share an announcement. Why don’t we start with that?” The anchor turned toward him.

  He shifted in his seat. “This is a project I’m excited to finally talk about. It’s been in the works for quite some time and now, with the movie out, I can share with all of y’all.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve made the decision that Red Lines is going to be my last movie for a while. I’m starting my own production company. I’m going to have more of a secondary role. Try my hand helping screenwriters, producers, directors.”

  “That’s quite an announcement.”

  “Yeah, I know it’s big
news. But I’ve wanted to try some other creative outlets for a while, and let’s face it, what better way to go out than as Dexter Red?” He looked at Emmy.

  “True. True.” Cheryl seemed to be struggling with the news. “I can’t imagine how your fans are going to react to this.”

  “You know Evan is going to be incredible behind the camera. I’m just hoping he’ll consider me for his first movie. I’m dying to be in it,” Emmy purred.

  He laughed. “It’s yours, Em.”

  “Will you two stay with us? We’ll return in a few minutes with the stars of Red Lines. Viewer questions are just pouring in. I think we all need a minute to let this soak in.”

  The show’s music cued, Evan hit pause, and turned toward Haven.

  She looked at him. “You really did it. You really retired. This is happening.”

  “I really did it. It is happening.”

  She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  “How do you feel? Any regrets?” She nervously bit on her lip. “This is a huge life change.”

  He looked around the room. “You kidding? Spending all my summers here with you at the beach, our falls and winters at the ranch? It’s a dream, baby.”

  “Have you settled on the location for the studio?” They had spent hours with a U.S. map spread in front of them trying to decide on a location that would make sense for them when they were in Texas or North Carolina.

  “Nah, I figure everything else has fallen into place, and that will too. Besides, I’m off this summer. Production company can wait until after my vacation. I’ll let Jeff stress about all of that stuff. He’s good at stressing.” He pulled her into his arms.

  “I still can’t believe this.” She listened to the words roll off his tongue, but no matter how many times he said it, she never thought it would happen.

  “You want to watch the interview again? I just proclaimed to the entire world that I’m not starring in any more movies. I am done. Completely ready for my life with you.” He tucked her hair behind her ear; it was finally long enough to touch her shoulder again.

  “And you’re positive you’re happy about this?”

  “Completely.” He grinned. “But tell me, pretty girl, are you? Are you ok with our setup?”

  She thought back to the night Evan’s father was in the hospital. She remembered the look of panic on his face, the pain in his mother’s eyes, the confusion Anna tried to muddle through. She knew then that no matter what happened, she was a part of that family. Evan was her family. The only way to make sure they stayed together was to make changes—big, life-altering changes.

  She had to give up the next Blue Steel contract. Bruce agreed to let her submit songs, but no more exclusive deals with Carly or Drew. She missed her writing sessions with Carly, but they stayed in touch and shared lyrics through email. The writing was still a part of her life—it was only slightly altered.

  She couldn’t let Evan be the only one to make sacrifices, and she couldn’t expect him to change completely. He needed excitement and he needed a change of scenery every few weeks. Bouncing back and forth between their two states gave him all of that. A little piece of home wherever they went, but not enough to let them succumb to the mundane. Cowboy seemed to like ranch life as much as beach life. Somehow they had managed to find the perfect dog in the midst of the chaos.

  “I’m happy, Evan.”

  “That’s all I wanted to hear.” He kissed her. “Can’t believe I had to remodel an entire beach house and give you your own closet at the ranch to get you to move in with me, but I guess it was worth it.”

  She shoved his chest. “You moved in with me here.”

  “Right, right. I guess so. We moved in together. How’s that?”

  She smiled. Nothing had ever felt more right. “Perfect.” She kissed him. “So, can we really watch that interview again?” She rested her head on his chest.

  “Yeah, let’s do that.” Evan hit rewind, then play.

  She settled against him. Tonight she would spend loving her very own ex-movie star in their own private paradise on an island far from everything that didn’t matter. And nothing felt more right.

  (On Safe Sex)

  The author would like to note that the characters in this book are extremely responsible and practice safe sex measures: condoms, birth control, and annual physicals. In the interest of maintaining the appropriate pace of the storyline, some of these details are left to the assumption of the reader. All characters would like you to know they are responsible and promote the safest of sex ;-)

  T.A. Foster is a Southern girl whose heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two canine kiddos.

  T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing, or planning her next beach trip.

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  I started writing Red Lines immediately after finishing Finding Haven, but paused for a few months while I worked on some other projects. By the time I picked up the story again, I was in the middle of one of my husband’s deployments.

  Deployments always come with their own set of complications, but this one was especially difficult for our family. The positive spin on it is that I was able to channel some of the long-distance angst into Evan and Haven’s relationship.

  Before I list the set of amazing people who helped me produce this book I want to thank all the people who helped me through the deployment and helped me finish the book when life was filled with challenges. My family, especially my mother, the neighbors who checked on us regularly (Marion, you were a godsend!), friends who called and texted, and the wonderful people in our community who made sure we were taken care of, thank you to each an every one of you for getting us through and for keeping me on pace with Red Lines. This book wouldn’t have made it without such overwhelming support.

  To Mary-Kathryn, who always seems to fit in time for Evan, thank you for reading and giving countless amounts of feedback. Jennifer and Alyssa, thanks for your endless support. Our sprints and daily check-ins were just what I needed.

  To the InkSlinger team, I appreciate all you do. Sommer at Perfect Pear Creative Covers, you did it again with another amazing cover. Thank you, H. Danielle Crabtree for your editing and guidance.

  Of course, thank you to all of the wonderful readers and bloggers out there. Your support means the world to me!

  Keep reading for a preview of FLY, available now!

  Description

  Not everyone’s good at one-night stands.

  Skye Stephens has the worst day of her professional career, and all she wants to do is shed her power suit and get lost in the sheets with the hot guy she met at the bar. The problem is, this uptight ad exec doesn’t know how to do one-night stands. She has strict rules about dating and when to let a man in her bedroom.

  Fighter pilot Ben “Bolt” Hardcastle is used to lovin’ and leavin’. But, after he meets Skye, one night doesn’t seem to be enough.

  When these two crash-land into each other, a connection strong enough to make the loner pilot and the sexy businesswoman shed their rules about love and relationships begins to burn deeper than either of them ever expected.

  “Bolt, Bolt!” There was pounding on the door. “Man, we’re already late. Pre-flight’s in thirty minutes. Get your ass out here.”

  Bolt rolled to his side, removing the arm draped across his chest. He grabbed his phone. “Shit,” he mumbled. He never set his alarm last night. He glanced at the brunette under
the sheets. Her hair tumbled over the pillow.

  “Hey,” she smiled.

  “Um, hey.” He jumped from the bed. Damn, what was her name?

  “Bolt! Dude, the car’s downstairs. We’re leaving.” The pounding stopped.

  “Right behind you.” He called after them, trying to clear the fog from his head.

  The girl pulled the sheet with her as she sat up in bed. “I thought you said your name was Ben.” She tilted her head to the side.

  He shoved one leg, then the other in his flight suit before zipping it up to his chest.

  “Yeah, it is.” He grabbed his flight bag. “Call sign, Bolt.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes followed him as he rushed around the room, collecting his scattered clothes and shoving them into his bag.

  He threw his dog tags over his neck and fed them through the neck of his T-shirt.

  “So, you think I’ll see you again?” She crawled forward on the bed.

  He stopped for a second, taking in her curves. She was young, gorgeous, and incredible in bed. “Wouldn’t that be cool?” He walked toward her. “But I don’t know when I’ll be back in Miami. Last night was fun.”

  He smiled as he leaned toward her to kiss the pouty look off her face. Maybe he could get out of the room without using her name. He hadn’t bothered to commit it to memory, but he knew he wouldn’t forget those lips. He couldn’t help but want to steal another kiss.

  She arched back on her heels. “It was definitely fun.” She ran her tongue over his lower lip. “Bye, Ben. Call me when you’re in town again.”

  He headed toward the door. “Yeah, I’ll do that, Ash—”

  “It’s Audrey.” He heard the scowl in her voice.

  He winced. “Right, Audrey. See ya.” He pulled the door behind him and raced to the elevator. He didn’t wait to get her number. He knew he’d never see her again.

  He tapped the button for the lobby and leaned against the wall. Last night was a blur of neon, short skirts, and tequila. He and the guys had gone out in South Beach. Audrey was the usual casualty. He shook his head as the doors retracted.